How many years does Samsung support their phones

Didja see? Samsung's pledging a full four years of support for security updates on its Galaxy-branded Android phones. Well, shiver me timbers: That sure is somethin'!

Samsung slapped the news down onto these here internerfs of ours Monday morning, and the glowing headlines predictably followed — with some stories going as far as to proclaim Samsung as the new undisputed "king of Android upgrades" or to declare that the company was now "beating Google at its own game."

Yeaaaaaaaah. That, my friends, is what we call an effective press release rollout.

Don't get me wrong: Samsung's newly stated commitment is excellent news, without a doubt, and it's hopefully a move that'll only spur more companies in the Android universe to follow suit (yay!). But there's also more to it than you see on the surface (aww!) — and the situation isn't nearly as black and white as some interpretations would leave you to believe (ohh...). So let's take a minute to explore the nuances of Samsung's shift and wrap our moist person-brains around what's actually happening here, shall we?

First, for context: For a while now, most Android device-makers have — at least in theory — agreed to provide a minimum of two years of operating system updates and security patches for their top-tier, flagship-level phones. Last year, Google bumped that up to a three-year guarantee for its own Pixel phones (insert suggestive eyebrow raise here), and Samsung soon offered a similar promise for some of its Galaxy devices (albeit without the same assurance of timeliness attached).

So now, what Samsung is doing is taking that a step further by saying it'll provide the Android security patches for an additional year beyond that three-year period — which, again, is fantastic. While full-fledged operating system upgrades absolutely do play a significant role in areas like performance, privacy, and security, the smaller security patches alone are still much better than nothing (obviously, right?!). And knowing you'll receive those for four years instead of three — or sometimes even less — is a valuable bit of assurance for anyone who hangs onto a phone even once it's reached, erm, elderly golden-ager status.

But — well, we've got those big buts to discuss. Shall we?

The first big but with Samsung's upgrade announcement

Okay, first: The question of when and how often a Samsung Android device will receive those security updates as part of this newly formalized plan is vexingly ambiguous. Some Samsung phones, y'see, are set to receive security updates monthly — at the same cadence those patches are released by Google and intended to be delivered. Others are down for only quarterly security patch rollouts. And others yet are one category lower, under a decidedly vague "regular updates" designation.

Samsung doesn't elaborate on what, exactly, "regular updates" entail — but it seems safe to say it's something less frequent than quarterly, since it's a separate category that's one notch down in the list. A "regular update" that's a step below quarterly could arrive only twice a year — or maybe even just once. It's up to interpretation, tellingly, but assuming it's a rate that's meaningfully less than four times a year seems like a reasonable conclusion to make, being that Samsung went out of the way to create that extra category for it.

Now, that's still better than nothing — right? Absotively! That's especially true in that fourth year, when most Android phones would be getting precisely bupkis. But, well, Samsung isn't only putting devices that are in their fourth year into that category.

For instance: According to the company's current device status breakdown, the top-of-the-line Galaxy Tab S4 — which launched in August of 2018 and cost a cool $649 to start (or $800, if you got its cheapest available option with the suggested keyboard attachment) — is already down to "regular" security update status, despite being less than three years old. The same is true for several midrange phone models from 2018.

The enterprise-aimed Galaxy A8, meanwhile, is already in the quarterly update category in its third year of life. The same is true for the top-tier Galaxy Tab S7 and S7+, which just came out this past September. Most of Samsung's midrange phones are also listed for quarterly security updates at best, no matter when they were released.

And when you're comparing that to Google's own Pixel update commitment, the comparison isn't quite as black and white as some folks around these interwebs have been making it out to be. Google currently sends security updates to all of its Pixel phones, including the $350 "a" models, on a monthly basis — as the updates are released — for three years. And it sends full operating system updates to all of those devices more or less instantly, too, for that same three-year period.

Samsung, as we just established, sends security patches every single month for some of its phones but then provides those updates only quarterly or "regularly" for others, with no explicit guarantee of when a phone might move from one state to the next — so while it does now continue those updates for four years instead of three, in some cases, you'll end up with much less frequent updates for a fair part or perhaps even all of that time. And despite the company's relative improvements over these past couple years, its reliability with actual operating system upgrades continues to be anything but optimal and significantly behind Google's standard. So you win some, you lose some, in other words; any advantage offered by the new fourth-year addition is offset by those hefty and underemphasized asterisks.

And all of that, m'dear, is but only our first big but.

The second big but with Samsung's upgrade announcement

Prepare yourself: This second big but is a juicy one, and it's largely being forgotten amidst this week's discussion. So here it is: Two months ago, Google and Qualcomm announced that the latest series of Qualcomm chips would support — wait for it — four years of security updates for Android phones. Yup. So what Samsung is doing isn't actually breaking new ground but rather following that earlier announcement with its own embrace of the same concept.

Now, let's not minimize the positive here: Any improvement is an improvement worth celebrating, especially when it comes to the oft-discouraging area of Android upgrades. But Samsung using this news to position itself as an industry-leading innovator is maybe just a teensy bit disingenuous. As is often the case here in these mossy mobile-tech waters of ours, a little context goes a long way in taking us beyond the press release headlines and letting us figure out what's actually going on.

Zooming out more broadly, it'll be interesting to see if and how Google evolves its own software support commitments when its next generation of new Pixel phones lands later this year. The joint announcement with Qualcomm suggests Google will at the very least honor that four-year period for security updates, like Samsung — only with the likely twist that all Pixel phones would receive the updates every single month, without any quarterly or "regular" downgrades in designation or any murkiness surrounding which tier any given device will fall into and for how long.

Beyond that, if Google's first homemade processors make their way into Pixel phones this fall, as expected, it's entirely possible even longer support life could become more feasible from Google's perspective — something I've been hoping to see for a while and that could eventually inspire even broader progress throughout the entire Android ecosystem.

The realm of Android upgrades has been overdue for improvement for far too long now, and with any luck, what we're seeing now is just the start — even if this week's news in and of itself might not be quite as earth-shattering as it seems on the surface.

Sign up for my weekly newsletter to get more practical tips, personal recommendations, and plain-English perspective on the news that matters.

Copyright © 2021 IDG Communications, Inc.

Updates are a big deal in the Android world. Apple controls the iPhone update process, but Google does not have that power over Android. How are you supposed to know how long your Android phone will get updates? We’ll help you.

It’s All About the Manufacturer

When it comes to Android devices and updates, you can’t look at all of Android as a whole. The question is not “when will my Android phone be supported?” It’s “when will my [manufacturer] phone be supported?”

There used to be many manufacturers pumping out Android devices, but it’s been mostly narrowed down to Samsung, Google, and a few smaller players—at least in the U.S. We’ll focus on those companies.

Android OS Upgrade vs. Security Update

Before we dive in, there’s one distinction that needs to be made. There are two types of Android updates. Security updates are smaller and arrive more frequently. They don’t typically include big changes, but they’re very important.

Android upgrades or “major OS updates” are yearly. This is when Android 12 upgrades to Android 13, or One UI 3 to One UI 4, and so on. Typically, devices will get one more year of security updates after they receive their last OS upgrade.

Note: Update timelines begin at the time of release. If a device was launched in October 2021 and it receives five years of security updates, the last update will be in October 2026 regardless of when you purchased it.

RELATED: What Are Android Security Updates, and Why Are They Important?

How Long Will My Samsung Phone Be Supported?

Samsung releases a lot of Android devices and they don’t all receive the same amount of updates. Thankfully, the company maintains a detailed “Security Updates Scope” website with information for specific devices.

Updates are released on a monthly, quarterly, and biannual schedule. Newer Samsung devices receive updates more frequently. Devices launched in 2019 or later receive four years of security updates, while newer devices receive up to five years.

In addition to those security updates, Samsung offers four Android upgrades for a majority of its devices. The list of those devices can be found on Samsung’s website and it includes newer models from those series’ as well.

The short answer for the majority of Samsung devices is you’ll get four Android upgrades and five years of security updates.

How Long Will My Google Pixel Phone Be Supported?

Google doesn’t have nearly as many devices to worry about as Samsung, but they’re still not all treated the same. Support timelines for Pixel devices can be found here on Google’s website.

Newer devices—starting with the Pixel 6 series—receive three years of Android upgrades and five years of security updates. The Pixel 5a through the Pixel 3a receive three years of Android upgrades and security updates. The Pixel 3 and older Pixels are no longer supported.

If you own a Google Pixel, you’re looking at three to five years of support.

RELATED: How to Manually Update Your Google Pixel by Sideloading OTA

How Long Are Other Phones Supported?

Beyond the big hitters, there are a few other Android manufacturers to know about.

OnePlus

The OnePlus 8 and newer devices receive three years of Android upgrades and four years of security updates. Older devices receive two years of upgrades and three years of security updates. The Nord series gets one year of upgrades and three years of security updates

Motorola

Motorola has one of the most lacking update strategies among Android manufacturers. It varies greatly depending on the device you have. Newer devices receive two Android upgrades and two years of security updates. You can look up your model on Motorola’s website.

Sony

Most Sony phones receive two years of Android upgrades and security updates. Sony does not provide a lot of information about its update timelines.

LG

LG shut down its smartphone business in 2021, but phones released in 2019 or later are supposed to receive three years of Android updates.

Samsung and Google Are the Most Reliable

At the time of writing in April 2022, Samsung and Google are head and shoulders above the rest of the Android world when it comes to updates.

Those are the devices you should consider if you want long-term support. You don’t want to use a phone without up-to-date software. It’s critical for security to have a supported phone.

Best Android Phone Overall

Best Mid-Range Android Phone

Best Premium Android Phone

Best Android Gaming Phone